The low earthen walls are mottled, as if telling the age of time.

Two low thatched houses faced the courtyard gate, and the black windows were like wide open eyes. There was no vitality in the courtyard, it looked gray, and even the water under the eaves was yellow and black.

This is Lu Xiaoxian's home.

The night in Kushui Village is quiet early, and a dim oil lamp is lit in the thatched house, and the smell of damp mildew and rot is very uncomfortable.

A broken pillow lay across the stinky and dirty bedside, and the quilt with tattered cotton wool exposed was crumpled haphazardly. Next to the bed was a wooden table with several holes, a bowl broken with several chips, and two plates stained with debris. Two helpless men live together, and the mess in the house can be imagined.

My father leaned on the edge of the bed, weaving a bamboo mat.

Lu Xiaoxian sat at the table, his eyes flickering back and forth with the flames.

After a long time, Lu Xiaoxian sighed sadly. He sighed more times this month than he had since he was a child combined.

With a "squeak", the tattered door was pushed open, and a man with a goatee walked in.

Seeing the visitor, the father showed a trace of panic on his face, and quickly stood up to greet him.

"Liu Lizheng, why are you here so late?" The father respectfully bowed to the other party.

Datang takes 100 households as the li, five li as the township, and each mile has one person. Li Zheng is responsible for investigating the household registration, paying taxes on agricultural mulberry, inspecting illegality, and urging taxes, although he has no rank, he is the highest governor in the village, equivalent to the village chief in later generations.

Liu Li is a native of Kushui Village, around forty years old, and has been doing Li Zheng for ten years.

Looking at the chaos in the house, Liu Lizheng shrugged his nose, obviously disliking the smell of the house.

He frowned slightly, and he was not polite, and said bluntly: "Tomorrow it will be your turn to find Xiangrui, I have already said it to other families, and finally I will let you know!" ”

Datang's household registration implements a neighborhood protection system, with four households as neighbors and five neighbors as protection. The one guarantee that Liu Lizheng is talking about is the five neighboring families on the left and right of the Lu family.

"I'll leave on time tomorrow!" My father was busy.

"Okay, I'll go back first!" Liu Lizheng nodded at his father and turned to leave.

Lu Xiaoxian watched coldly from the sidelines, although Liu Lizheng spoke very politely, there was a clear sense of order in his tone.

Don't take dried shrimp for seafood, and don't treat the village chief as a cadre.

Lu Xiaoxian came from later generations and knew how powerful the village chief was, at least he still had a lot of deterrent power against his father, who was a rogue person.

After Liu Lizheng left, his father didn't have the heart to do the work in his hand anymore, and paced back and forth in the house anxiously.

Lu Xiaoxian felt strange and was about to ask, but saw someone push the door and walk into the house.

It was Zhang Meng's father who came, and he also received a notice from Liu Lizheng, so he came to discuss with his father.

"Brother Lu, Liu Lizheng has been here, right?" Zhang Meng's father asked.

Father nodded.

"What are we going to do?" Zhang Meng's father had a sad face.

"What to do? Can you carry it? "Father didn't have a good air.

Zhang Meng's father's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

From the conversation between the two, Lu Xiaoxian roughly knew why they were bothered.

The Empress of Heaven changed the Tang Dynasty to Zhou, and honored the title of Holy Spirit Emperor. Everyone knows that the Holy Spirit Emperor likes auspiciousness, and the ministers of the court have gone to great lengths to find auspiciousness in order to cater to the emperor. Nanba County, far away at the end of the world, is naturally no exception.

Nanba County has always been rumored that there are strange turtles on Wangyun Mountain, it is said that the head is snake-shaped, and there are nine yellow round square hole copper coin imprints on the tortoise shell, so it is called "snake-headed money turtle".

Liu Lizheng received an order from the county government to send people from each household to Wangyun Mountain to find Xiangrui. The two of them are rogue people, and they have long been used to being controlled by the government, how dare they slack off.

Lu Xiaoxian knew in his heart that the five spirits of the unicorn, phoenix, turtle, dragon, and white tiger were the highest-level Ruizhao in the past dynasties. The snake-headed money turtle is a great auspicious fortune, and it will definitely make officials of all sizes flock to it.

After a long time, Zhang Meng's father said worriedly: "But, how did Wangyun Mountain go?"

Zhang Meng's father's concerns are for a reason, Wangyun Mountain has a deadly miasma, and it has always been regarded as a forbidden place in Nanba.

It is not uncommon for miasma to occur in all parts of Lingnan, but the miasma in Wangyun Mountain is different from other places. The miasma in other places can still survive after inhalation, but the miasma inhalation of Yunshan will definitely die.

It is said that when Qin Shi Huang conquered Baiyue, tens of thousands of Qin people died in the depths of Wangyun Mountain, and the anger gathered by the unjust souls finally converged into a life-threatening miasma. In recent years, hundreds of people have been killed by miasma, and in the eyes of the people of Nanba, Wangyun Mountain is no different from Yama Temple.

"It's a blessing or a curse, it's a curse that can't be avoided!" The father pondered, "Since the official family has arranged it, it will definitely not work if you don't go, depending on your luck!" ”

……

Lu Xiaoxian walked in the Grand Canyon under Wangyun Mountain, and his heart was full of emotion.

A month ago, it was here that he mistakenly stepped on the silver-ringed snake and crossed over to Datang. Only a month later, he was back in the same place.

Lu Xiaoxian's father and son depend on each other, and his father wants to go to Wangyun Mountain, so he doesn't worry about leaving his son alone at home, so he naturally wants to take him with him.

"Leisure! Are you tired? Zhang Meng panted.

It stands to reason that Zhang Meng can not come to Wangyun Mountain on this trip, but I heard that Lu Xiaoxian came, as a competent follower, of course Zhang Meng could not be absent, pestering his father to go with him, Zhang Meng's father had no choice but to take him.

Listening to Zhang Meng's questioning, Lu Xiaoxian knew that he would definitely not be able to walk. With Zhang Meng's physique, it's no wonder that he is not tired after walking such a long way.

"Daddy, let's take a break!" Lu Xiaoxian pleaded softly with his father.

The father glanced at his son distressedly, turned his head and looked at Zhang Meng's father and Lin Laohan with an inquiring gaze: "Or, let's rest and leave?" ”

Zhang Meng's father nodded.

Lin Laohan shrugged his shoulders and agreed.

Lin Laohan is a widower, not a rookie, but a native.

Lin Laohan wiped the sweat from his head, and said to Lu Xiaoxian's father in a shrill voice: "I said Brother Lu! Let's just make a show in this valley, and when we go back after dark, we will say that we haven't found Xiangrui, and we have handed in today's errand, what do you think? ”

Lin Laohan had a good idea, and Zhang Meng's father couldn't help nodding.

Lu Xiaoxian's father shook his head and said, "No, let Liu Lizheng know, then he will be punished!" ”

"What are you afraid of him doing?" Lin Laohan said disdainfully, "It was said that the five families of Yibao went to Wangyun Mountain, but in the end, only the three of us came, I bet that this guy must have received the benefits of those two families to show favoritism." ”

Lu Xiaoxian's father knew that Lin Laohan and Liu Lizheng had always been on good terms, so he said this. Lin Laohan can disobey Liu Lizheng, but he can't, who made him a rogue identity?

He didn't take Lin Laohan's words, and looked up at Wangyun Mountain.

Seeing that Lu Xiaoxian's father had no words, Lin Laohan felt bored and stopped talking.

The scene in front of me was all too familiar, the strange scene of a month ago seemed to have happened yesterday, and it seemed like centuries had passed. Lu Xiaoxian's face kept changing, and the revisit of the old place reminded him of his memories of later generations.

Zhang Meng looked at Lu Xiaoxian, and Lu Xiaoxian's strange expression made Zhang Meng feel very strange.

After a pause, the group set off again.

Half an hour later, they reached the halfway point of the mountain on the south side of Wangyun Mountain.

Zhang Meng's father crossed his hands on his waist and said to Lu Xiaoxian's father with a bitter face: "Brother Lu, it's not a way to touch it so blindly, when will you find Xiangrui?" ”

Lu Xiaoxian's father was about to speak, but suddenly stopped, looked to the right, and showed a strange expression on his face.

Zhang Meng's father turned his head to look to the right, and a thick pink fog came into view, and the fog waves were rolling, like the waves of the sea, like a peach blossom in full bloom.

Several others also saw this wonder of nature, and the pink mist was like a bewitching beauty, singing and dancing, and running towards them enthusiastically.

Lu Xiaoxian couldn't help but admire in his heart: It's so beautiful!

Lu Xiaoxian's father woke up from his trance, he seemed to realize something, and hurriedly turned around and rushed to his son.

Lu Xiaoxian, who was intoxicated, was pushed out by his father's vigorous force, and before he could make a sound, he rolled down the slope.

Lu Xiaoxian's father glanced at Zhang Meng, who was stunned in place, and kicked him in the ass.

"Ouch", Zhang Meng also fell downhill.

The powder mist rustled, rolling and whirling, spinning, and swallowing the remaining three people on the slope with attachment......

……